Around the World discussion

This list likely overlaps almost entirely with the master list, but perhaps not... Feel free to comment, suggest, take suggestion, etc. Glad to be here!

ALBANIA: The Palace of Dreams
ARGENTINA: Kiss of the Spider Woman
AUSTRALIA: Eucalyptus: A Novel
AUSTRIA: The Piano Teacher
BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA: Shards: A Novel
CHILE: 2666
CHINA: Rickshaw Boy
COLOMBIA: Delirium: A Novel
CROATIA: On the Edge of Reason
CUBA: Three Trapped Tigers
CZECH REPUBLIC: Disturbing the Peace
DENMARK: Niels Lyhne
ETHIOPIA: How to Read the Air
FRANCE: Whatever
GERMANY: Das Boot: The Boat
GREAT BRITAIN: The Stranger's Child
GREECE: God's Snake
ICELAND: Iceland's Bell
INDIA: A House for Mr. Biswas
IRELAND: Paula Spencer
ITALY: The End
JAPAN: 1Q84
NETHERLANDS: The Storm
NEW ZEALAND: The Bone People
NIGERIA: Half of a Yellow Sun
NORWAY: Gunnar's Daughter
PERU: The Way to Paradise
POLAND: The Captive Mind
PORTUGAL: The Double
ROMANIA: The Appointment: A Novel
RUSSIA: The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine
SAUDI ARABIA: Cities of Salt
SERBIA: The Bridge on the Drina
SOUTH AFRICA: Cry, the Beloved Country
SOUTH KOREA: Please Look After Mom
SPAIN: Your Face Tomorrow, #1: Fever And Spear
SWEDEN: I Curse the River of Time
UKRAINE: The Master and Margarita
ZIMBABWE: Nervous Conditions

Enjoy -- and, please, if you're interested in keeping up with what it is exactly that I'm reading, feel free to forward a friend invitation... My reading tastes are pretty heterodox -- and all the books I read aren't in English -- so you've been warned ;-)... -- k. :-)

one of those books that i've always meant to read and never managed to pick up... now i've challenged myself... i was considering Move Your Shadow: South Africa, Black and White or A Dry White Season (i've only seen the movie) for south africa, but i must must must read Cry, the Beloved Country first :-)...

Welcome Kris. Cry the Beloved Country is on my list too. I've been meaning to read it for a long time as well.

Hi Kris, Welcome! We have both chosen the same novels for Croatia and Zimbabwe; it will be nice sharing thoughts and comments. I too need to read Cry The Beloved Country...so many books!

You wrote that not all of the books are in English, what other languages do you speak and/or read?

mikki --

i can speak and read german, french and spanish fluently... i speak conversational dutch and italian as well, but not anywhere near well enough to read a novel in either language :-)...

i try to list the english language version of books (unless they've not been translated)... sometimes it's easier for me to read in spanish -- both spanish and english were spoken in my home when i grew up... my sister in law is french and often loans me books in french...

-- k. :-)

Hi, Kris, and welcome. I admire your linguistic abilities! Are you European or South American?

my parents are both from spain and i lived in europe in the summers until i was an adult... now i live in south florida, so i spend most days speaking spanish, english and some "spanglish" too :-)...

my "personal" list of novels/books from spain that i want to read is REALLY long -- it could be a list in itself :-)... happy to recommend spanish/spanish lang literature if anyone's ever curious :-)... -- k. :-)

Asmah admires but I envy! So often I fear that the translated works have been diluted in a sense; how wonderful to be able to read a work in the author's true voice.

Kris wrote: "...my "personal" list of novels/books from spain that i want to read is REALLY long -- it could be a list in itself :-)... happy to recommend spanish/spanish lang literature if anyone's ever curious :-)... -- k. :-) ...."

Your probably keeping the titles all together is a plus. Fifty-two plus titles is acceptable. I would be curious to know your spanish literature choices!

Mikki wrote: "...So often I fear that the translated works have been diluted in a sense; how wonderful to be able to read a work in the author's true voice."

A translator's task is to keep the original author's meaning while keeping the prose and poetry fresh and sparkling. Reading the original work's nuances must be better as a reader of translated works completely accepts a translator's interpretation.

Asmah, exactly.

I made sure you were up to date on the master list, and I'm sending a friend request!

Hi Kris, I admire your fluency in so many different languages! I know English, French and Swedish, but I am not talented in the field of linguistics. I just manage....

I hope you enjoy The Master and Margarita. It can be read on different levels, just for the imaginary fun of the writing and for a deeper understanding of Russian society. I do suggest you read a copy with extensive notes. Then you can appreciate the book on both levels depending on your mood as you read through it. Have fun.

And thank you for listing books not found on others' lists! :0)

Chrissie wrote: "...The Master and Margarita. It can be read on different levels, just for the imaginary fun of the writing and for a deeper understanding of Russian society. I do suggest...a copy with extensive notes. ..."

Good suggestion, Chrissie. When reading The Name of the Rose my edition hadn't any Author's Postscript nor Explanatory Notes, so I had to get a hold of a separate publication of the Postscript and another one called The Key to The Name of the Rose: Including Translations of All Non-English Passages. So, your advice will be handy when I plan to read The Master and Margarita.

Kris wrote: "This list likely overlaps almost entirely with the master list, but perhaps not... Feel free to comment, suggest, take suggestion, etc. Glad to be here!

ALBANIA: [book:The Palace of Dreams|79763..."

Thanks for the Australian novel. I've put it on my to read list.

Asmah, I very much enjoyed the notes, but I do not want readers to skip the book simply b/c they do not have the energy to read such. Even without the notes it is a fabulous tale of imagination. I am glad you intend on getting an edition with the notes. There are notes and notes and notes. I found it best to read the notes after each chapter, otherwise the writing gets kind of chopped up.

Concerning the Name of the Rose....... I read the unabridged copy, but had no notes. I had a huge problem with the attidtide of the author - that the book should be difficult to get through b/c those not bothering to work their way thorough need not bother to read his book. Once I read that, I think it was in the introduction, I was annoyed. I read it from start to finish, but one Eco is enough for me.

Chrissie wrote: "I do suggest you read a copy with extensive notes. Then you can appreciate the book on both levels depending on your mood as you read through it. Have fun.
..."

Thanks for the heads up, Chrissie. I've just checked my edition (translation by Diana Burgin and Katherine Tiernan O'Conner)and it has 30 or so pages of commentary broken down by chapter, as well as an afterword. Looks like I'll be able to stumble through!

Mikki, don't be discourged by the notes. Read them when you feel ike reading them. Some of the notes are extremely interesting and will definitely increase your appreciation of the book. Others less so. The main thing is to have fun with the book.

The translators you name do sound familar. I think I read the same as you, but I cannot check since the book is not here in Belgium.

"Kiss of the Spider Woman" is an excellent choice. It's one of the books I can't stop thinking about.